Customer Reviews

The Compleat Next Men, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

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THE COMPLEAT JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN collects what I consider one of the very few worthwhile comic series of the `90s. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that this series is the best of John Byrne's career. Sure, he worked wonders with Superman, the Fantastic Four, and countless other big-name heroes, but Next Men showcased his skills at writing and illustrating his own characters, with no restraint. What's so amazing is, even though the Next Men didn't have the extensive history of those other DC & Marvel characters, their adventures were no less astounding under Byrne's guidance. The storyline kicked off in a standalone prestige format book titled 2112, which presented a future Earth plagued by "halflings": beings with powers that brand them as outcasts from the seemingly normal population. Then Byrne jumped back 120 years in the timeline to feature the origin of the Next Men in Dark Horse Presents, followed by a 30-issue series. Set in the "real" world (more or less), Byrne introduced a team of superpowered teenagers produced by a top-secret government eugenics project. The subjects, isolated in a virtual reality program, have received random powers through the triggering of a dormant gene. Unbeknownst to the project heads, the teens can interact with each other virtually, and their powers manifest to the point where they can no longer be contained. They escape, and the story follows their effect upon the world.

This is a beautiful collection from IDW. In the format of Marvel's Essentials and DC's Showcases, TCJBNM is a thick black and white collection with over 400 pages, but with sturdier covers and paper. Included are 2112, Next Men #0-12, and the MIV back-up stories from the series, a Next Men tie-in. With all this material, it looks like the entire series can be wrapped up in a second volume, so to get the entire story in two inexpensive trades is a heck of a deal. The collection is not 100% flawless, as a character's dialog in one panel is completely blacked-out, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Next Men was John Byrne's big creator owned project of the 90s. Byrne of course is a modern master, responsible for memorable runs on X-Men and Fantastic Four and hand-picked to reimagine Superman for the 80s. In the 90s he shunned the big guns trend of the age and went with a quieter more realistic take on superheroes.

The series has its rough edges, too many characters speak with the same exposition-laden voice. The opening story is rather dull. But the story builds nicely with some interesting twists and is certainly worth checking out.

If you're a fan of Byrne you'll love it, even if not it's over 400 pages of fantastic art and a gripping story for under $20. With new comics going for $3 to $4 for 22 pages this deal can't be beat.

Back in the 80s, John Byrne was among a cadre of comic book creators bringing elevated levels of sex and violence into mainstream super-hero titles. While never achieving the heights of Alan Moore or Frank Miller, there's no denying he was on the forefront the maturation of comics. He helped kill off a major character (Jean Grey) in the Dark Phoenix Saga. He braved the controversy in having Superman, the Big Blue Boyscout, get his hands dirty and kill (in cold blood no less) the bad guys at the end of his Superman run.

Next Men is perhaps the zenith of these trends for John Byrne. Divorced from the mainstream heroes of the DC and Marvel universes, he explores much the same territory and doesn't have to pull any punches.

And that's the good.

The bad is...

As a writer, John Byrne is a good artist. There's a lot of needless exposition in here, made a lot more noticeable by being collected. Take, for instance, the M4 shorts, which originally ran as a related back-up feature to the book. Not long into its run, he wastes nearly half of an entry recapping the rather brief story-so-far. While I don't fault writers for recapping events for new readers, one would think that recapping 20-odd pages of story could have been done in a quicker, more entertaining way.

Another problem, for which John Byrne can't be faulted, is that much of this territory has been mined endlessly by other creators. In the early 90s, Next Men was made notable by the less-than-stellar writing of the Image line (and most mainstream DCU and MU books); but times have moved on, better writers have joined the industry, and much of what was once fairly novel at the time, is hopelessly cliched today. Next Men simply hasn't aged very well.

Even worse is that "Compleat" is something of a misnomer, which suggests that the Next Men saga is finished. Unfortunately, the cliffhanger that appears at the conclusion of the second volume of this series is the last we have seen of these characters. John Byrne entertains the notion of returning to the series eventually, but after more than a decade, fans of this series have learned not to hold their breath.

Still, it remains a bittersweet signpost as to where John Byrne's career might have gone had he not retreated to the comforts of pre-existing characters. In the genre of "realistic" super-heroes, it's no Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns, but it demonstrates what John Byrne was capable of.

I enjoyed Next Men when I was a teenager, mainly due to the artwork and the pacing. Able to read it as an adult and all at one time, however, I recognized that there were no real ideas here. It's just a mean-spirited and very basic time travel storyline. The art is still good enough for what it is.

The opening story, 2112, is worth the price of admission.

Love JB's art in B&W.

This is a mature title - H.S. is probably the youngest appropriate age.

The Next Men characters tend to grow on you.

My favorite characters in the story are the antagonist(s)!?!

As a long time John Byrne fan, I picked-up this volume intrigued by the Next Men concept and to see what Byrne would do outside the major editorial companies. In the end, I really liked the result, highlighting the following:

PROs
- Great story, interesting characters. The cliffhangers are pítch-perfect.
- Really liked how the sex between characters was portrayed; it's something you don't usually see in comics. Not 10 years ago, not today.

CONs
- The black and white pages doesn't show the art. Afterall, when it was created it was meant to be shown in color.
- Where are the original covers? There even isn't a thumbnail page with them.
- The MIV back-up story has its moments but sometimes it feels like a page-filler. I mean, each chapter usually lasts 6 pages and there's one with a recap that takes 4 pages!


Overall, I really recommed this volume. I'm eager to read volume II.